ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — The U.S. Air Force has begun construction on a facility at Kirtland Air Force Base that officials say will play a role in the proposed "space defense."
The Albuquerque Journal reports the Air Force Research Laboratory's $12.8 million Space Control Laboratory will consolidate efforts on the New Mexico base.
The new facility will include office and lab space for 65 civilian and military contractors. It will contain a 5,000 square-foot (1,524 square-meter) high-bay laboratory space and more than 5,000 square feet (1,524 square meters) of secure office, laboratory and meeting space.
Air Force Col. Eric Felt says space is now "a war-fighting domain."
President Donald Trump has proposed creating a new U.S. Space Force — a plan that has hit widespread resistance on Capitol Hill.
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Information from: Albuquerque Journal, http://www.abqjournal.com